Interstellar Travel: Becoming a Dress-Up Game Designer

Chapter 177 The aroma of tea welcomes guests, and wisps of smoke envelop the fragrant house.

Most children didn't have class on the first day; they just listened to stories. Classrooms and teachers were assigned on the second day, and the daily schedule was posted...

Lin Shuying was exhausted after finishing her mental health activities and has been resting for the past few days, while also making hairpins. As for Qingfengyi's various matters, she has left them to the employees to oversee, as she needs to release the pressure.

Looking back at my timeline, I've actually been in interstellar space for six years!

What time is it on Earth right now?

After thinking for a long time and checking my own calendar, I realized it's early spring in February in China.

Spring is such a wonderful season.

I continued flipping through my usual notebook and found several themes related to spring, such as birdsong and fragrant flowers in full bloom. However, I had already done this theme before, and you can't always repeat the same thing when making a game, otherwise players will feel that the game has no room for improvement.

However, we still need to include flowers, so let's put them in the hairpins.

The flower crown is also very nice.

Then there's the spring outing and tea. In this event, a scene involving a set of outfits included a spring outing, and the response was quite good.

Furthermore, tea culture originated in China, where the history of tea can be traced back to before the Xia Dynasty, spanning four to five thousand years—an extremely long history. Subsequently, it spread through trade routes such as the Tea Road, the Silk Road, and the Spice Road, becoming a major economic force comparable to spices and silk.

Lin Shuying's hometown has small tea gardens, not the commercial kind, but the kind scattered in the fields. When she was little, she could pick three to five yuan a day, and her parents didn't want her money, they saved it for her.

Thinking about this brings back some memories, of that little girl who used to fight with her friends over tea bushes on the ridge. Back then, there were many children in the village, all playing together and visiting each other's homes. Especially when picking tea or foraging for wild fruits, a shout from the hilltop would bring all the children rushing over.

The tea trees in the tea forest are very different. Some sprout quickly, some slowly, some sprout many buds, and some sprout few buds. The group knows each tea tree like the back of their hand, and even once planned the picking order for each good tea tree. If they came to the secret tea tree and found that it had been picked, they were immediately disappointed, but if they found another good tea tree, they were overjoyed.

Also, when you go to sell tea, look for those who offer the highest price.

The prices offered by tea buyers varied, differing by a few cents. If one of my friends sold their tea for a cent or two more, I felt a pang of envy. We'd chatter on and on about our prices, discussing this little thing all the way home, and before we knew it, we'd arrived at one of my friends' houses. They'd prepare a bowl of sweet fermented rice wine, made with water from a large stone vat in a deep room—it was very refreshing. One sip, and the heat from walking for half a day would dissipate.

It was really great back then. Lin Shuying still loves the taste of fermented rice wine to this day and misses it terribly.

Thinking about this makes my mouth water...

So she added a dish of fermented rice wine to the food, hehe.

It is made exactly according to the most delicious taste in my memory.

Childhood was truly wonderful. You could fill a beverage bottle or beer bottle with a few spoonfuls of fermented rice wine, add some saccharin, fill it with water, tie a rope to it, and carry it around all day long.

Running freely through the mountains and fields, leaping over ridges a meter or two high without hesitation, looking up to hear the laughter of friends, and looking down to hear the scolding and playful shouts of adults...

With this in mind, Lin Shuying hesitated between the two headlines.

Spring rain, misty and hazy, like washing silk, brushes across countless hills like emerald feathers. The peach blossoms of March have faded in the wind, and the fragrance of tea wafts from the rooftops.

This is the happy version, but spring is all about flowers and Qingming Festival. Putting aside all the legends and stories, the atmosphere of this season is indeed a bit sad.

Above, the snow melts; below, spring blossoms bloom. A misty spring rain falls, a slight chill in the air. New green buds emerge, moss climbs the rocks, and sunlight filters through the small steps. This transitional point easily evokes a sense of melancholy.

Lin Shuying recalled the rainy springs of her childhood, the raindrops pattering under the eaves, striking the stone pillars and creating a palm-sized dent over the years. At these times, everyone stayed indoors; her parents and grandparents would sit in the main room chatting, a lively scene. The fire crackled and popped, occasionally punctuated by the sound of her grandfather's chimney.

Lin Shuying squatted under the eaves, occasionally reaching out to catch some rainwater, looking blank and lost in thought.

There were many chickens standing quietly on the second level of the pigpen, and the pigs were also very still. The dog lay motionless next to Grandma, occasionally its tail would tug at the needle and thread in Grandma's hand, and Mom would slap it.

This moment is peaceful, yet tinged with a touch of sadness.

The misty rain drifts like a white crane, and the falling pearls seem to whisper secrets to the banana leaves.

Birds hide among the leaves, preening their colorful feathers, occasionally disturbed by the sound of the wind, lost in thought.

I quietly lean against the window railing, watching the spring sunshine; a small fruit hides behind a green fan devoid of flowers.

I awoke suddenly as if from a clear dream, and realized with a start that spring had passed and Qingming Festival had arrived.

.........

Ultimately, she chose a clearer theme: The fragrance of tea welcomes guests, and the lingering smoke envelops the fragrant home.

Let's focus on tea. Tea is beneficial for self-cultivation and is suitable for both home and daily life. It's one of the few things that connects ordinary people and the elite, and its influence has never ceased since its discovery.

Most importantly, tea originated in China and has developed for nearly five thousand years, truly representing a major essence of Chinese culture. This essence encompasses culture, spirit, beliefs, customs, and more, spreading throughout the world.

After the last event ended, Qingfengyi was busy with matters at the Children's Palace and didn't have time to organize a fashion show. Since the event ended without much attention, Lin Shuying decided to give the players a small treat.

Soon, the fifteenth event began, which coincided perfectly with the spring season on Lin Shuying's own calendar.

The players were still freely enjoying themselves at the children's palace, contributing their remaining energy by spontaneously caring for children. Suddenly, the system notified them to go back and collect the announcement envelope.

Players who saw this exclaimed that Qingfengyi had finally shown some humanity by giving advance notice.

Players abandoned their children and rushed to their home base. Just as they left the Children's Palace instance, a light drizzle began to fall. The rain was very gentle, continuous and misty, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

Arriving at the community center a few minutes before midnight, everyone sat in the rocking chairs in the attic, contemplating life. The excitement they felt at the Children's Palace had suddenly subsided, and their minds went blank as they stared at what lay before them.

Although the rain was pouring down, there was an inexplicable tranquility.

At that moment, a sheet of pure white silk floated down from the sky; upon closer inspection, it turned out to be many tea leaves and tea blossoms. The tea leaves were emerald green, the tea blossoms pure white, and the fragrance was delicate, pleasant, and refreshing.

It floats to the player, carrying a pink bottle, and begins to swirl.

The player trained quickly, adjusting the shooting angle to capture the details. Only then did they catch the bottle, and the camellia and tea leaves disappeared.

Some slower-reacting players missed catching the bottle; the tea leaves disappeared, and the bottle automatically moved to the mail collection area. Different players have different habits, and the mail collection area was no longer where Lin Shuying had originally placed the mailbox. The system defaulted to placing the most mail in the mail collection area.

The bottle was extremely beautiful, with a lid. They checked the bottle's description and discovered that it wasn't a bottle at all, but a tea caddy used to store tea leaves.

There's a camellia flower design on the outside, gilded and carved on porcelain. Inside, it has a fish-scale crackle pattern, looking extremely high-end. The color is a delicate pinkish-nude.

This is a special perk from Qingfengyi for its players; it's a limited edition!

Many players were thrilled and immediately put the items on their display shelves.

Then open the letter:

Dear Qingfengyi players, the fifteenth event, "Tea Fragrance Welcomes Guests, Smoke Envelops the Fragrant Abode," has officially begun! In this event's instance, the seasonal changes will remain in spring, without any distinct seasons. However, there will be weather variations such as sunny, cloudy, overcast, and rainy.

Qingfengyi will showcase a significant aspect of Chinese culture: tea culture!

Tea is one of the most fortunate discoveries of the Chinese people, accompanying them for thousands of years. From scholars and nobles to ordinary people and merchants, tea has always been an indispensable part of their lives. Among the essential elements of Chinese life—firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—tea occupies one place, demonstrating its importance as a daily necessity.

Although tea is shared by all social classes, different social strata have developed different habits and ways of using tea. The upper class regards tea as a symbol of status, a reflection of refinement, a manifestation of rules, and a display of power. Thus, tea becomes a work of art, and tea drinking becomes an artistic activity.

In rural areas, it is mainly used for drinking and as a daily consumable.

As the art of tea permeated the upper echelons of society, it gave rise to specialized tea techniques, tea ceremonies, and tea cultivation practices, which varied from place to place. Thus, tea evolved from simple boiling to adding ingredients, then to elaborate methods, and finally simplified to steeping. The Chinese discovered that steeping was quite effective, and it became widespread. After exhausting the variations in tea preparation, people began to explore tea tools and accessories, such as spiritual beliefs, self-cultivation, tea sets, tea brewing procedures, tea selection, tea performances, tea grades, and tea sources.

This gradually led to the development of an extremely complex tea culture.

Tea is generally classified into six categories based on color: black tea, red tea, oolong tea, green tea, yellow tea, and white tea. This classification is based on the different processes of tea processing and fermentation, resulting in color variations, and is a category that is relatively easy for the general public to understand. In addition, tea can also be classified by region, variety, brand, grade, and harvest time.

For example, the growth stages of tea leaves, such as the first harvest, before and after Qingming Festival, before and after the rain, and the second harvest, will be detailed in the service center's announcement during this event. You can find out for yourself.

The following updates have been made to this event:

1. Updated some vulnerabilities discovered at the Children's Palace and strengthened the restrictions on players entering this instance game.

2. A brand new dungeon, "Camellia Ancient Road," has been added. In this dungeon, players can choose to manage tea plantations, become tea merchants, explore the scenery and trigger serendipitous encounters, and much more. A variety of exciting gameplay awaits your exploration.

3. A brand new, limited-edition outfit has been added: the Tea Family Young Master and Young Lady Set. Players can obtain it by completing a quest.

4. We've updated the NPCs in the Chinese martial arts world; feel free to find and encounter them!

...'

There aren't many updates to the event; most of it is in the announcements section.

Players are eager to enter the dungeon to see what's going on, but their first priority is to check the detailed announcements.

I was shocked after reading this; these limited-edition items for this event are going to be hard to get!